Why does it matter if Christianity is a sun worshiping religion?

[outhouse]

I said it was a sun worshiping religion, as in a religion based around solar symbolism.

So you have never studied anything credible on the religion?

 

[Politesse]

Jesus' whole white, bright image is a solar image

Not everybody's Jesus is white, yo.

The concept of resurrection comes from the rebirth of the Sun every day, which is where the concepts of the ressurected god comes from, as well as agricultural connections.

Agricultural connections and obvious agricultural metaphors make it a harvest cult, not a sun cult.

The holidays, as stolen from solar worshiping religions, are based around the solar cycle. Christmas being at (close enough for what could be expected) the winter solstice, and the holidays being around solstices and equinoxes are solid proof as well.

Christmas is only near the Winter solstice, and that only in some churches; it falls as many as three weeks later in some of the Eastern churches.

And then there are... all of the other holidays.

Morning mass.

Compline.

I'm starting to see your point, though; if you only look at a select range of data points explicitly chosen to support your point, and ignore any data points that refute it, you get a prefect match.

I bet I could compile a longer list to support a claim that Christianity is Buddhism or Zoroastrianism in disguise.

 

[psychoslice]

The Sun, and the 12 disciples.

 

[1137]

The Sun, and the 12 disciples.

Good point, the zodiac and disciples. I guess it's more of a stellar religion with a focus on the solar aspects.

 

[Awoon]

Well, that was clear. I guess we can finally put the thread to rest.

Why don't you apply for Mod job? Or you are really one incognito to get away with your snobby comments.

 

[JoStories]

1. I did not say that a Christian (if your claiming your Mom is one) does not worship the Sun. I said Christianity does not teach sun worship. It in fact emphatically condemns it. A Christian can do all sorts of things but doing them does not make the actions consistent with Christianity. There is not one verse in the bible that even lowly interpreted would suggest anyone worship the sun. Doing so is considered a grave sin in the bible. A Christian can do anything but doing this is contradictory to the bible not consistent with it. It is not my business to judge whether a person is a Christian or not but it is easily within my capacity to point out sun worship is forbidden by the bible.


2. Easter is not nor ever was based on anything in paganism. There is no Easter in the bible. Soon after Christ died small communities celebrated his rising from death but it was only much later that any kind of universal celebration was enacted and the word Easter applied to it. It got tangled up with paganism because the Catholic authorities wanting to make the celebration more appealing to pagans played around with its date, meaning, ceremonies, etc........ However the original recognition of Christ's rising from death had nothing what so ever to do with paganism, as it took place in regions completely hostile to paganism in it's early years.

3. A sun rise service has nothing what so ever with worshiping the Sun. The word sunrise appears in that phrase because of two things. The monks that began it stayed up all night praying and then celebrated Christ's resurrection when the sun rose, and because it is believed Christ rose in the morning. Nothing to do with worshiping the sun.

4. I am concerned with God in the flesh because I am flesh and that is exactly the intent God had when he came here. He came in the flesh so we may better relate to him and he may better exhibit the standard we should follow. If he was a rock or a camel he would be less relatable and not a very good example. BTW I am not obsessed with God being flesh, I don't even know what that means exactly. I think of God as a spirit generally but I think of him as the suffering messiah as well. BTW Jesus' flesh was not God, God took on human flesh in the form of Jesus.

5. I am sure God is in the sun because he is omnipresent. But not only does it make no since to worship God by worshiping a ball of gas that will cease to exist in a few billion years, it is strictly condemned in the bible. That is idol worship and one of the least logic forms of it I can think of.

Now you might react emotionally to this since your mother is involved but I am not judging your mother. She may be twice the Christian I am, but if she worships the sun I can judge that specific act as condemned in many ways by Christianity. IN fact let me give you 1 of the many scriptures that pertain to this.

New Living Translation
They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

I don't react emotionally to most topics. There are a couple of exceptions but mostly I simply debate here for the fun of it.
1. My mother is one of the most devout Christians I have ever known. She would tell me I am being stupid about thinking she worships the sun, much like you think. That does not, however, negate the obvious parallels between Christianity and Paganism that exist.
2. Easter is based on Beltane. You can believe it to not be so but that doesn't change the clear parallels between the iconography and symbolism that exists between the two. Do you know anything about Beltane? It is a holiday that celebrates rebirth. IE: The resurrection of the sun/Son. It is about renewal of life, much like Christ offers you through his crucifixion.
3. I understand that for you, this is the antithesis of what you're taught by your faith and the Bible but that doesn't change the fact that many theologian scholars agree that the faith you practice was built on the shoulders of older ones. You can deny that. I have no issue with it but to blatantly deny it without considering that there just MIGHT be a kernel of truth seems very closed minded to me.

 

[JoStories]

DJ I see you have an English denomination. You may be able to help me with a question. In a movie called Fury one actor asked another if he had been saved, the other said that he was a church goer. This led the first guy to respond to the church goer by saying "oh, your a main liner aren't you. I have studied Christian theology a long time but do you know what was meant by mainliner. For some reason it suggested a formal type of church like the English Anglican denomination but that was a feeling more than knowledge. Can you shed any light on "mainliner".

Mainstream Christianity are those denominations that are the most prevalent. IE: Baptist, Lutheran, etc. Lesser known sects or cults are not considered mainstream. IOW, your faith is based on either the RCC or Martin Luther and the various Bibles associated with that faith. For example, WBC or Jim Jones or Mormonism would not be considered particularly mainstream.

 

[outhouse]

The Sun, and the 12 disciples.

Unsubstantiated rhetoric.

It Is not.


That would be Helios

 

[outhouse]

Good point,

No it is not.

the zodiac and disciples

No it is not. ANY CHANCE you could use credible sources????????????????????

. I guess it's more of a stellar religion with a focus on the solar aspects

No it is not.

This just shows a lack of knowledge on this topic.

 

[Nakosis]

My question is actually mainly direct by Christians who fight to the death against such views of Christianity. Why does it matter?

There is a difference between Sun and Son. I imagine even Christians know that.

 

[1137]

There is a difference between Sun and Son. I imagine even Christians know that.

Well yeah, the Son comes from the Sun god. It's a human version of the solar principle.

 

[psychoslice]

Unsubstantiated rhetoric.

It Is not.


That would be Helios

Its an example of where the teachings came from, no matter if you agree or not.

 

[roger1440]

The connections between sun worship, other sun deities, and Christianity are more than apparent to any who look for them. My concern is why this should matter in any way, shape, or form. It's not like Christianity blatantly worships the sun like other religions have / do, in fact using the sun and stars as the basis for a religion who believes in an intelligent and interactive god makes perfect sense (in context). Why can't the three stages of the sun be the foundation of the Trinity? Is the sun manipulable by god? Why does it matter if the there wise men are the stars of Orion's belt? Perhaps God simply wanted to help physically illustrate spiritual truths.

My question is actually mainly direct by Christians who fight to the death against such views of Christianity. Why does it matter?

If “Christianity is a sun worshiping religion”, how is it you are the only person who knows this? There are currently around one billion Christians on the planet right now. When we add to the mix all the Christians who had died in the last two thousand years we end up with a heck of a lot of Christians. And you are the only person who knows this? What gives?

 

[1137]

If “Christianity is a sun worshiping religion”, how is it you are the only person who knows this? There are currently around one billion Christians on the planet right now. When we add to the mix all the Christians who had died in the last two thousand years we end up with a heck of a lot of Christians. And you are the only person who knows this? What gives?

How am I the only person who accepts this? Plenty of people know this, all the Christianity stole and perverted is WELL known and WELL documented. Guess you'd have to be open minded and honest enough to research it though.

 

[dust1n]

Genesis 1:1-3

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Sounds like a sun to me.

 

[roger1440]

How am I the only person who accepts this? Plenty of people know this, all the Christianity stole and perverted is WELL known and WELL documented. Guess you'd have to be open minded and honest enough to research it though.

If I’m undecided on what color scheme to paint my home and look out my window and find an attractive color scheme on my Muslim’s neighbor’s home and mimic that, my only interest would be the cool colors not the Muslim.

Point is, early Christianity had borrowed from other traditions. It had little or nothing to work with in the beginning.

 

[outhouse]

Its an example of where the teachings came from, no matter if you agree or not.

Not following you. What do you mean the origins of the teachings?

 

[outhouse]

How am I the only person who accepts this?

There are plenty with no biblical education and bias that want to avoid actually having knowledge on these topics.

Plenty of people know this

A few make this claim doing pseudo history. IN academic circles they are laughed at and ignored. like AchryaS who is probably your source. She is laughed at by real scholars.

Guess you'd have to be open minded and honest enough to research it though.

There is a big difference between open minded, and lacking all knowledge on the topic and just making garbage up as they go..

all the Christianity stole and perverted is WELL known and WELL documented

All religions are guilty of this, how does that help you out in any way shape or form ?

 

[1robin]

I mean you're doing very well at repeating what you were taught. No pagan roots in Christianity, no solar connection to Easter, etc et. al. Your parent/religious leader would be proud.

My truly Christian parent died when I was 17, and I have never studied comparative religion from a theologian. I have seen and learned from well published historians, philosophers, and mythologists how paganism and Christianity became mixed up. As I have said the Popes who (despite their being a few good ones) have generally been a brood of vipers, withed to make Easter and Christmas palatable to Roman pagans and so blurred the lines, which our secular cultures has amplified.

If you go back to around the 3rd - 6th century Rome everything happening at the time was the perfect conditions for this to have occurred in. I mean if you wanted to create conditions perfectly suited to this blending we have had every one existed at that time.

So I will agree with you that modern celebration of Christmas and Easter have been watered down by paganism a long time ago. However Christianity did not derive its doctrines from these same roots. Paganism, and secularism have slow eaten away at the core message over the centuries. I know many churches who recognize this and have gone back to the original celebrations. Examples the Feast of booths, the Passover.

The type of argument your trying to make is classified as parallelism. It is an argument that looks good through fuzzy glasses but when analyzed with a microscope utterly disintegrates into a theory as ridiculous as the ancient aliens. If you want I can look up a debate I remember between two PhDs (neither of which a preachers) where the Christian destroys every single argument about parallelism his opponent makes. If you promise me you will watch it with an open mind I will spend the time to find the link.

 

[1robin]

1. Jesus' whole white, bright image is a solar image.

2. The concept of resurrection comes from the rebirth of the Sun every day, which is where the concepts of the ressurected god comes from, as well as agricultural connections.

3. The holidays, as stolen from solar worshiping religions, are based around the solar cycle. Christmas being at (close enough for what could be expected) the winter solstice, and the holidays being around solstices and equinoxes are solid proof as well.

4. The use of literal white vs dark in good vs evil represents, as it does numerous other places, the Sun vs. nighttime. For example, Ra was fighting Apep during the night before being, dun dun dun, reborn in the morning.

5. Morning mass.

6. The Sabbath was literally moved to the day of the Sun.

7. Whether known or not, tons of stuff is taken from older religions and astrology. The three wise men, the importance of the number 7, etc.

Was this addressed to me. I do not see responses unless you quote or tag me in your post. If you do not understand how to do that, I am happy to explain. However I do not want to answer a post until I am sure it was aimed at me.